Abstract

We report on transport properties of oxide manganite (LBMO) thin filmsdeposited by pulsed laser deposition(PLD) technique. Detailed analysis of heavy-ion stoichiometric composition has been carried out as a function of laser-pulse fluence and ambient oxygen pressure.Depositions using high-fluence and low oxygen pressure provide the optimal heavy-ion stoichiometric ratio in the LBMO samples. Deviations from the optimal LBMO stoichiometry are observed when decreasing the laser fluence or increasing the background oxygen pressure. This behavior is interpreted by considering the influence of the experimental deposition conditions on the plume dynamics. All these findings provide clear insights on the PLD-growth of manganites and, more in general, of complex oxide materials.

Received 11 November 2009Accepted 22 December 2009Published online 22 January 2010

Acknowledgments:

Valuable and fruitful scientific discussions with R.Bruzzese, X.Wang, and U.Scotti di Uccio are acknowledged. R.C.’s research activity has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme 2007-2011 under Grant Agreement No. 212348 NFFA.